The NBA on Christmas Day this year was incredible.
Every single one of the five games was competitive late, with an average final margin of just five points and two games where a shot was in the air to tie or win the game for the losing team. LeBron James and Stephen Curry had their typical amazing duel, Victor Wembanyama announced himself to the league as only the third player in NBA history with 40+ in a Christmas debut, and the Philadelphia 76ers showed they are still dangerous if they can just stay healthy for a full 48 minutes. NBA fans unwrapped a delightful day of basketball yesterday.
Going in that was not necessarily a given. A number of the best teams in the league were left off of the 10-team, 5-game slate. That included the best three teams in the Western Conference standings -- the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies -- as well as the team with the best record in the league, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Who gets to play on Christmas Day?
There is a formula for which teams make it onto Christmas Day. If you were in the NBA Finals the year before you are essentially a lock to make it in. If you are the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks you make the cut. A top-5 player? You probably make it in. If you have an extremely marketable NBA Legend who is still upright, you make the cut (hello Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant). And finally, if you have a young rising star who looks like he can be extremely marketable, you could be selected to play.
That final criteria is why Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs made the cut, and largely why Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves did as well. The NBA also appears to have been scared off by the unpredictability of the Milwaukee Bucks -- top-5 player in the world in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but frequent injuries and the potential for the team to be blown up -- and of Ja Morant, despite Morant's appeal and pizazz on the court.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only true head-scratcher on the list; they are a market that hasn't historically been a huge draw, but they have a Top-5 player, multiple rising stars and were obviously going to be at the top of the West this year. Leaving them off was inexcusable.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were a more understandable omission from the day. They were merely the four seed last year in the Eastern Conference, don't have a clear-cut Top-10 player, and are not a giant market. Yet now that they have established themselves as an Eastern Conference contender, it is likely things could change down the line.
It appears that the Cavaliers players see that change as a personal challenge.
Donovan Mitchell makes a Christmas promise
As the Cavaliers enjoyed a mini-break in the schedule for Christmas, Donovan Mitchell was looking at the 10 teams playing on Christmas Day and saw another mountain to be climbed for Cleveland. He took to social media to make a promise to both Cleveland fans and the rest of the league.
Christmas game soon…. @cavs 🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) December 24, 2024
Finishing this season with the best record in the league would go a long way toward putting the Cavaliers above the line. Making a deep playoff run would also help the cause.
If Mitchell wants to ensure that Cleveland makes it onto Christmas Day next season, the best way is for him to level up in the playoffs, capturing the world's attention and leading the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. It will take an upset of the Boston Celtics or a conquering of their playoff demons against the New York Knicks, but making it out of the East would make them a lock next year -- especially if Mitchell becomes a prominent star in the process.
The Christmas story for the Cavaliers won't be written until next August, but if the Cavs and Mitchell want to put something in ink this year, it's going to take a level of playoff success this group hasn't yet achieved. For that and many reasons, this season's success will be determined by whether they can prove themselves a postseason contender.
If they do, jingle bells may very well be in the future for the Cleveland Cavaliers.